Interviews

This piece was published in the November/December 2015 issue of Riddim. Here it is in English for the first time… Macka B is not afraid to speak his mind. A conscious Rasta, strict vegan and lyrical deejay for over 30 years, … Continue reading →

“We had friends who were taking LSD and going mad” In the third in our series of interviews with reformed foundation UK bands, United Reggae caught up with Wolverhampton’s Capital Letters. (Check previous chats with Reggae Regulars and Black Roots) Assembled in 1972 … Continue reading →

Scotland is proud of its history of inventors – from John Logie Baird to Alexander Graham Bell (and that’s just the B’s). So with that in mind, it’s actually not so surprising with hindsight that a sound system and … Continue reading →

With his versatility in singing and deejaying, roots music and dancehall and every fusion in between, I Octane is arguably the complete package as a Jamaican vocalist. But being so many things at once presents a unique challenge to Clarendon’s Byiome … Continue reading →

Jamaican super-producer Donovan Germain recently celebrated 25 years of his Penthouse label with the two-disc compilation Penthouse 25 on VP Records. But Germain’s contribution to reggae and dancehall actually spans closer to four decades since his beginnings at a record … Continue reading →

Midnite from the US Virgin Island of St Croix are not a reggae band – they are a movement, a phenomenon, a testimony to the power of being attuned to a different frequency than the rest of the world. They … Continue reading →

Tarrus Riley is about to release his fifth album, the rocksteady inspired Love Situation, on February 4th. It’s a tribute to the sweet sounds of the mid to late 60s at Treasure Isle – featuring rhythms sampling and updating the Melodians, … Continue reading →

One of the biggest tunes of 2013 was Angola – the debut single byJah Bouks. The previously unknown 38 year old from St Thomas previewed his cultural anthem on the TV show Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall. Amazingly, his first venture … Continue reading →

“Jamaica needs to be cleaned from the bottom to the top” When Sicilian singer, deejay, producer and multi-instrumentalist “roots renaissance man” Alborosie burst out with a slew of peerlessly consistent singles in 2006, it seemed like an unstoppable reggae force had … Continue reading →